British singer Katie Melua is furious over government plans to close several public libraries in England.

Council officials in Newcastle are shutting "the vast majority" of the city's 18 libraries in a bid to save $11 million (£7 million) from its book services budget.

The news has been met with outrage from locals, and authors including Philip Pullman, Julia Donaldson and Anne Fine have joined forces to launch a campaign to save the institutions.

The Closest Thing to Crazy hitmaker Melua was upset to read about the decision, and has taken to her Twitter.com account to back the writers' protest.

She writes, "This is terrible! Library closures in Newcastle! They'll destroy one of the greatest things about Uk society and culture!"